LOS ANGELES — Dustin Penner, Drew Doughty and Jarret Stoll, scored goals, and Jonathan Bernier made a career-high 40 saves to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes in the second of back-to-back games at Staples Center on March 19.

The Kings won the opening round of this two-game match-up on March 18, 4-0.

LOS ANGELES — Anze Kopitar and rookie Tyler Toffoli each scored a goal and added an assist, while Jonathan Quick stopped all 27 shots he faced, to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,118 fans at Staples Center in Los Angeles on March 18.

After the Coyotes had the best of the scoring chances early in the first period, Kings rookie defenseman Jake Muzzin opened the scoring on a shot from the top of the left circle at the 6:01 mark, with the Kings on the power play. Muzzin’s shot was deflected near the point of origin by Coyotes right wing David Moss, changing the direction of the shot.

COMMENTARY: The Phoenix Coyotes, seething after Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown flattened Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival late in the overtime period, lost their composure, and, as a result, the game, and the series. They embarrassed themselves, and their organization, after the game, with perhaps the most ridiculous excuses one could possibly imagine for losing a playoff series.

Logo courtesy National Hockey League

LOS ANGELES — After watching and listening to the reactions of some of the Phoenix Coyotes after they lost in Game 5 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals, a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, one would get the idea that the entire world, outside of the Phoenix metropolitan area, was against them.

That was just one of the common refrains emanating from the Coyotes dressing room after the game—they were livid about the officiating, especially after Kings right wing Dustin Brown laid out Coyotes defenseman Michal Rozsival at the Phoenix blue line late in the overtime period.

On the play, Brown was skating across the blue line, and had Rozsival lined up for a hit. A moment after the whistle blew for an offsides call, Brown nailed Rozsival, his shoulder slamming into his chest, while his left leg struck Rozsival’s left leg.

Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown (left) and center Anze Kopitar (right) are but two Kings who are thoroughly frustrating the Phoenix Coyotes
in the 2012 Western Conference Finals.
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — After dropping Games 1 and 2 of the 2012 Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Kings, both rather lopsided affairs on home ice, the Phoenix Coyotes let their frustration boil over, as National Hockey League teams often do, resulting in a parade to the penalty box.

That frustration led to two dangerous incidents, including a careless, dangerous, knee-on-knee hit by Coyotes defenseman Derek Morris on Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi (Morris received a minor penalty on the play), and an even more dangerous hit from behind by Coyotes center Martin HanzalRead more of this post

Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown (left) and goalie Jonathan Quick (right), shown here at a recent practice session, led their team to a
decisive 4-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 1 of the
Western Conference Finals in Glendale, Arizona, on May 13, 2012.
(click to view a larger image).
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

Heading into Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals (scheduled for tonight, 6:00 PM PDT, Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, Arizona), the Phoenix Coyotes know that their biggest challenge will be finding a way to contain the Los Angeles Kings’ top lines, most notably, their first line of Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Justin Williams, who totally dominated whenever they were on the ice, and picked apart the Coyotes.

“Obviously, their top two lines are really skilled, real strong on the puck,” said Coyotes center Martin Hanzal. “We’ve got to make sure we can be hard on these guys, physical, and take the time and the space away from them. That’s going to be the key.” Read more of this post

The logos of the Los Angeles Kings, the 29 other National Hockey League teams, and of the National Hockey League, are trademarks of their respective rightsholders and are used with permission of the National Hockey League.